Department of Geosciences

Welcome to the Zhang Microbial Biogeochemistry Lab

The Zhang laboratory seeks to understand microbial nutrient and energy transfer in past and present environments. Our interdisciplinary approach, which draws inspiration from culture-based microbiology, molecular microbial ecology, and stable isotope geochemistry, is imbued by strong consideration of microbial metabolism at cellular and community scales and involves research in both laboratory and field settings.

Metalloproteins are a central theme in our research as they catalyze nearly all energy transfers in biology. Despite their importance, much remains to be understood about what controls metalloprotein activity in the environment. This fundamentally limits our ability to address changes in climate, elemental cycling, and the energy landscape. We believe that viewing metalloprotein activity in the context of broader metabolic fluxes within and between cells will aid in resolving long-standing questions in microbial biogeochemistry.

Current investigations fall under the following areas:

- Biological nitrogen fixation by canonical Mo and alternative V, and Fe-only nitrogenase metalloenzymes, focusing on determining the distribution of and controls on the activity of different nitrogenases in modern and ancient ecosystems using model organisms and communities.

- Microbial trace metal acquisition, focusing on how metal acquisition strategies are adapted to an organism’s environment and physiology.